An angry mob on Saturday lynched three suspected Boko Haram members who allegedly came from Bama council area to the El-Amin Daggash Mosque in Government Reserved Area in Maiduguri, Borno State with the intention of killing Islamic cleric, Modu Mustapha, while preaching during Tafsir (Ramadan sermon).

The terrorists were said to have stormed the area in a Golf Saloon car and one tricycle armed with AK-47 rifles and a pistol before they met their untimely death.

The incident, according to sources, happened at about 4pm, when the Tafsir programme was going on. Someone was said to have sighted one of the terrorists with a pistol sitting among the congregation, and alerted others who apprehended him.

Immediately the suspect was nabbed, a mob swooped on him and beat him to death, while the other two suspects who were also inside the mosque were arrested in the process of attempting to escape. They were equally beaten to death some few metres away from the mosque.

The Joint Task Force (JTF) ‘Operation Restore Order’ in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, however said it was not a Boko Haram attack, saying it was an error of judgment by a policeman on duty who pursued someone who allegedly stole a Keke Napep and a bag of rice and drove off towards the mosque.

JTF spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, said in a statement: “The incident was not a terrorist attack as insinuated, rather, it was an error of judgment by a policeman on duty that pursued someone who allegedly stole a tricycle and a bag of rice and drove off. The policeman was in mufti, wore Police reflective jacket, pursued the alleged thief and fired two gun shots.”